American manufacturer, aviator, and film producer Howard Hughes, who was known for his reclusiveness and for the uses to which he put his vast wealth,
was born.

1905

English Victorian poet Matthew Arnold, a literary and social critic noted especially for his Classical attacks on the contemporary
tastes and manners of the “Barbarians” (the aristocracy), the “Philistines” (the commercial
middle class), and the “Populace,” was born.

1822

TIME CAPSULE

From Britannica Book Of The Year

December 24,
2007

Near Aleg, Mauritania, four French tourists picnicking on the side of a road are shot and killed, and a fifth is injured; law enforcement comes to believe that the attack was connected to Al-Qaeda.